A method and apparatus are provided for imaging three-dimensional scenes and objects by detecting reflections from emitted sequences of electromagnetic radiation. At least one transmitter is provided for emitting a sequence of electromagnetic radiation, and at least three sensors are provided for detecting radiation reflected from the scene and objects being imaged. Signals based on the detected radiation are used, together with spatial information of the transmitters and sensors, to calculate reflectivity coefficients for points of interest in the scene. Velocity vectors associated with moving objects within the scene can also be determined based on the rate of change of the phase differences between the emitted and reflected radiations.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method for imaging a scene, the method comprising: sending a sequence of electromagnetic radiation from at least one transmitter; detecting reflections of the sequence from the scene using at least three sensors, wherein at least one sensor is not co-linear with the other sensors; calculating a reflectivity coefficient for each point of interest in the scene based on the detected reflections; generating a representation of the scene based on the reflective coefficients; and at least one of storing the representation in a memory arrangement or displaying the representation of the scene on a display device.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one transmitter comprises at least one of a laser or a light-emitting diode.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sequence of electromagnetic radiation comprises at least one of a pseudorandom number sequence, a modulated continuous wave, or a phase-modulated Fourier transformed pulse.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating the reflectivity coefficient comprises determining a round-trip delay between each transmitter, the point of interest, and each sensor, and calculated the reflectivity coefficient based on the sequence of electromagnetic radiation, the amplitudes of the detected reflections for each sensor, and the round-trip delays.
5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the reflectivity coefficients are calculated using a time-averaging technique to improve the spatial-temporal resolution.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining frequency changes between the sequence of electromagnetic radiation and the detected reflections; and determining a motion vector associated with each point of interest based on the frequency changes.
7. A method for imaging a scene, the method comprising: sending a distinct sequence of electromagnetic radiation from each of at least three transmitters, wherein at least one transmitter is not co-linear with the other transmitters; detecting reflections of the sequences from the scene using at least one sensor; calculating a reflectivity coefficient for each point of interest in the scene based on the detected reflections; generating a representation of the scene based on the reflective coefficients; and at least one of storing the representation in a memory arrangement or displaying the representation of the scene on a display device.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein each transmitter comprises at least one of a laser or a light-emitting diode.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein each sequence of electromagnetic radiation comprises at least one of a pseudorandom number sequence, a modulated continuous wave, or a phase-modulated Fourier transformed pulse.
10. The method of claim 7 , wherein calculating the reflectivity coefficient comprises determining a round-trip delay between each transmitter, the point of interest, and each sensor, and calculated the reflectivity coefficient based on the sequences of electromagnetic radiation, the amplitudes of the detected reflections, and the round-trip delays.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the reflectivity coefficients are calculated using a time-averaging technique to improve the spatial-temporal resolution.
12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: determining frequency changes between the sequences of electromagnetic radiation and the detected reflections; and determining a motion vector associated with each point of interest based on the frequency changes.
13. A system for imaging a scene, the system comprising: at least one transmitter configured to send a sequence of electromagnetic radiation toward the scene; at least three sensors configured to detect reflections of the sequence from the scene, wherein at least one sensor is not co-linear with the other sensors; and a processing arrangement configured to: (a) calculate a reflectivity coefficient for each point of interest in the scene based on the detected reflections; (b) generate a representation of the scene based on the reflective coefficients; and (c) at least one of store the representation in a memory arrangement or display the representation on a display device.
14. A system for imaging a scene, the system comprising: at least three transmitters, wherein each transmitter is configured to send a distinct sequence of electromagnetic radiation toward the scene, and wherein at least one transmitter is not co-linear with the other transmitters; at least one sensor configured to detect reflections of the sequences from the scene; and a processing arrangement configured to: (a) calculate a reflectivity coefficient for each point of interest in the scene based on the detected reflections; (b) generate a representation of the scene based on the reflective coefficients; and (c) at least one of store the representation in a memory arrangement or display the representation on a display device.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
November 24, 2008
March 16, 2010
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